New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-02-03
MORE ROOM FOR A MUSEUM.
NATURAL HISTORY EXHIBITS CROWDED


rrSx COLLECTIONS That CANNOT BE DISPLAYED
oyERCRowDEp LECTURE-RooMs.
IN. hill for the addition to the American Museum OF
Natural History, that will be presented tns week III
the Legislature. will be watched with interest In tue
dty. Beside tho signatures OF nearly 3,Ooo pubhc
cbool te,chers to the petition in Its favor it has the
support OF Mayor Hewitt and all who ar" interested In
the museum If the bill is passed and Is approved by
Governor Hill 1t will 60 into effect at once and the
work on the new building will be well under way De-
fore another winter sets m ,,.. rr
The space exhibits in the pres ent ouang nS, 10,
mora than A wear been overcrowded that nunuteus
A. snecmens have been stored away in the garree anu
Sei,srs Of the building There is now no room or new
exhibits except By sSr hitting sMaS The NEW
niaees In view OF the interest now taken IN Tha
education the museum has grSss Boh@ore in.
.G.s scnres TO the teachers, is that through us
Selections natural history Is taught oy better
We the lectures Is the most urgent reason ior
the no building The ys course OF thu museum for
& Of 1854 The fund that provides tor the Lectures
thot sppropr ated by the State tor normal schools
~ Wcr,p.I College OF this city does no draw upon
th fnnd "a the Board OF Education prefers 10 xeeP
The college under the direction OF CITY instead Oh o.so
officials By an act OF tine eer the teachers and they
Jsr the supervision of the State superintendent
~ Public instruction. The frat autumn course OF tne
did mot bn D the SPRING Of 1885 the
ance was doubled In the autumnof 1883 the lecture
hall on the upper floor OF the mu cum that @oas com
oy4ahlv about 800 persons was crowded lhe atteho-
the next sprng became large that often more
than aUO persons were packed in the hall and many
were turned away at each lecture hs civ anS
only q small p ,rtion Of them can be admitted 10 me
lectures A number Of teachers have oeen coming
fron, Rrooklyn Yonkers and Mt Vernon, AM seats
are reserved Tor them until few minutes before the
lecture begins. go ... AVID
The lectures began with human anatomy !y.t ana
rbysieloqy and after treating OF the human system
were In o tns spring no ss5
presented series OF ten ,dc aIa sea
eoras the lower forms Of marine life ana also OF Mes
bees and other insects illustrations are gi.eh on
and at close of the lectures the SUBJECTS are
fnrther illustrated by Professor Btckmore with views
o the objects that have the subject of the lecture
taken from the exhibits of the museum The course IN
the autumn of 1883 was devoted 10 pnSsca geogr 1
America aud 10 the suring the hsh industries OF the
country were presented in series OF lectures on tna
salmon, babut and cod Last summer rro ore t
Bckmore visited Europe and gathered material Tor the
lectures in the the physical geography and
ethnology OF Europe These have JUST 9een hn,sneu
mammils Next fall the lectures vii! treat OF Egypt
Asia and the countries along the Mediterranean, with
Tn the me- building tho lrcture-hal will occupy
large portion of the first and second hoors' ana VIII
seat nj least 200 persons. Mr. BlcKmore desires 10
have the screen so arranged that the map of country
can be kept on il before the audience while other
views of the lecture being presented In detail On
the same floor. beyond the lecture hail. rooms Will
omen in which the objects that have been the subject
OF the lecture can be Inspected 1t will require three
wears 10 complete he building, but it is thought that
the lecture-hall can be ready in a from next
autumn # the work is begun this summer
The exhibit of American huilding stones that has
been secured by Morris X. Jesup for the museum is
now arriving, hut the specimens remain IN cases ana
are ranged along the halls and the starways. They
will number nearly 2.0U0 specimens and will repre-
sent every quarry in the United States that has yielded
stone of commercial value. These specimens will re-
oure fully half of one OF the floors Tor full DIS
play This with the exhibit OF American woods,
makes the economic department OF the museum OF
special value. Specimens vi all woods ana stones OF
the United States can be examined 10y the trades, and
thrr relative strength and values for commercial pur
noses are determined by Government scientific an
alyss Fully one,uuarter of the woods remain undis
played yet for want OF space many OF the specimens
OF the chronological department have been removed to
give room for other exhibits. In the cellar Jennes
Richardson the taxidermist has IN watts nearly 100
skins of birds and mammals and more than 300 skel
etons for mounting; among these are the skin and
skeleton of Bombi the rhinocerO' This material VIII
occupy onehalt of OF the floors. Professor j. A.
Allen curator OF the pathological department, says
that he has fully 5000 birds that could be mounted
for his department and that they would require about
oethrd more space than Is given to this exhibit
The department OF marine zoology is only TO be seen
in the rooms OF the curator, Dr.. j. b. Holder The
museum possesses large collection OF these forms OF
sea life including OF the latest results from the
dredrings of the United States Fish Commission. DR..
Holder saws that hall onehalf as large as the lower
floor would be required tor his collection.
The new building will front on Seventy-seventh-st,
and its dimensions will be 100 by go feet four stories
high in addition to basement cellar anu aitc Inc
present building interior wing that will be con-
cesled as the museum buildings are erected but tue
new structure will indicate in its facade something OF
the styie OF architecture that is to distinguish the
American Museum OF Natural History that is to be-